6060 East Joy Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
Here’s what can be made with a single cylinder diesel
engine, a lifetime collection of parts and stuff, plus some
imagination.
It’s made to look like a scaled down 1912 Reliable truck
that was made in Chicago. It is 8 feet, 6 inches long and 46 inches
wide. Rear wheels are Ford model A 4.40 x 21, front 4.00 x 15. I
made them using blank rims and Ford Escort rear hubs and front axle
is a model T Ford cut down, steering is Ford Escort rack and
pinion.
Engine is a single cylinder Yanmar diesel; drive train is Eaton
Hydrostat coupled to a Ford Escort four-speed trans axle to make
the rear wheel drive unit. Speed is 0 to 15 miles per hour and it
has rear wheel disk brakes.
All big trucks need an air horn, plus I have two different steam
whistles. Air for these is supplied by an air compressor pump made
from the block of a small air cooled engine.
As for the useful side of this thing, it also drives a 110-220
volt 4,000 watt generator for standby electric in case of a power
outage.
It was a fun thing to build, runs and operates well, and is real
handy to get around in at these large shows.